1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to components fabricated from braided fiber composite materials and, in particular, to a method of making an integral structure so fabricated comprised of inner and outer coaxial shells mutually supported so as to define an annular passageway therebetween. Throughout the instant disclosure, the terms "braided fiber" or "braiding" are intended to include "woven or knitted fabric" or "weaving" or "knitting", although the specific construction of braided fiber and the specific method of braiding are considered to be preferable to the specific constructions of woven or knitted fabrics and the specific methods of weaving and knitting.
2. Description of the prior Art
It is known to utilize elongate material, such as boron fibers, carbon fibers, and glass fibers for the reinforcement of gas turbine engine components such as compressor and turbine blades and vanes. In particular, the potential for usage of high modulus, high strength fibers, such as carbon, silicon carbide, boron, and glass in a resin or metal matrix is widely recognized. A typical application of such materials is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,271 to Bailey et al. In that particular instance, a composite gas turbine engine blade is disclosed as being made by braiding a plurality of fibers to form a preform. After braiding, the preform is placed in a mold provided with a blade shaped cavity and is subjected to matrix infiltration while the mold halves are pressed together by suitable pressing means such as a hydraulic cylinder. The goal of the present invention is to utilize a similar technique for the construction of a component which heretofore has only been constructed of metal, namely, magnesium, aluminum and, more recently, titanium and steel.